Percy was totally screwed.
Of course, everything down here wanted to kill him, even when they saved him, they wanted to kill him.
Percy shot up, pulling Riptide out.
"For two years I've had to reform-" Kelli said.
Percy hated monologues. He sprang forward, swinging riptide in a wide arc, aiming to slice the monster in half. Kelli dodged backwards. Percy didn't have time to react as something jumped on to his back, sending Percy stumbling forward. He hadn't realized that Kelli had friends.
As Percy stumbled forward, he swung out towards Kelli, who tumbled to the side to avoid his errant swing. The empousa on his back dug her claws into his shoulders. He spun himself around repeatedly to get the hitchhiker off his back, but the empousa remained stubborn. He swung his sword behind him, relieved as the monster turned to dust. The pain in his shoulders stung, but he could deal with it.
He turned his attention back to Kelli. She was standing a few feet away, her bronze leg dully reflecting the ground. He charged again, crouched low as he ran. He scooped up some of the glass on the ground and tossed it at her face, forcing Kelli to cover her eyes. Percy continued his charge, swinging his sword at her abdomen, slicing her in half.
Percy panted heavily, hands on his knees. He watched as Kelli dissolved into golden dust on the ground. He heard her whisper, but it was too faint to hear.
Where do they go when they die down here? Do they just reform again? Percy thought. He'd rather not stick around and find out.
He looked around the barren landscape. The only notable features were mountains to his left, a steep drop to his right, and the river in front of him. The plains he was on were desolate, the only features being small hills, dead trees and bushes, and the occasional boulder.
Percy looked up to where he fell. Blood red clouds hung low in the sky. Maybe only a few hundred feet up. Beyond the clouds, it got blurry, like a thick fog, as if the rest was being hidden from him. As Percy looked around him, he noticed the same fog on the horizon line.
Percy stood back up fully. His knees were shaky. The air felt like it was eating away at him, he wouldn't be surprised if it actually was. His throat was scratchy, and breathing felt painful.
Percy felt something rise in his throat and he coughed into his arm. As he pulled his arm away from his face, he frowned. Blood was splattered on his forearm. He wiped the blood off, worrying about it wouldn't help him.
He turned away from arm, looking around. He decided to follow the river he landed in downstream. He remembered some survival guide said that following a river downstream was a good survival tool if someone was lost. Percy trudged forward, ignoring the stings in his shoulders as he walked along the beach.
Percy had been walking for what seemed like hours. He'd heard rumors of the pit before, many had mentioned the irregular time flow. A day down here could be a week up there, or just an hour. Time was not on his side, he couldn't know how much time had passed on the surface, so he had to be quick.
Percy coughed again, red specks flying through the air. The familiar burn in his throat intensified by the cough. Things were not going well. The scrapes on his arms should have scabbed over by now, and his fingers were beginning to blister.
This place was killing him. Slowly, at least, if that was any consolation. If Tartarus didn't kill him, the monsters surely would.
Percy glanced over to the water of the black river.
Water is water, right? Even looking at the water was depressing, but he needed to drink something. He didn't think he would be able to go the whole time down here without drinking. Or eating. The thought disturbed him. There wasn't exactly a McDonalds down here, and he was already growing hungry.
On que, Percy's stomach grumbled.
Percy walked closer to the shores of the black river, depressing thoughts getting louder and louder.
It would be easier to join us. Percy shook his head to try to clear the thoughts that intruded his mind.
He crouched down on the shards of glass that made up the bank of the river, gingerly resting his knees on the glass. He cupped his hands and leaned over the water.
The river's intruding grew stronger as he pulled his hands out of the water.
Why bother? Succumb. It will all be over.
Percy quickly drank down the essence of the river.
He tried to swallow, coughing as the liquid passed down his throat. It was like trying to swallow a piece of food far too large to fit down your throat, ten-fold.
Percy had made a huge mistake. The river water didn't stop the thought just because it was in his stomach, its effect on him intensifying now that it was inside him.
Percy fell against the beach, holding his head as the thoughts wormed into his skull.
He was an idiot! Who would think that would work?!
Percy tried shoving the thoughts back down, but they only increase in intensity.
You'll never be happy! Even if you escape, you'll be a monster! Only monsters survive here!
Percy groaned. His hands gripped his hair, trying to pull the thoughts out of his head.
You're a fool! The rest will hate you!
His stomach finally realized that whatever he had drank wasn't what it was looking for. Percy felt water rising from his stomach, doubling over as he threw up. He watched in disgusted fascination as the water seemed to snake its way back to the river.
He was definitely not drinking from the river again, no matter how thirsty he was. He finally managed to pull himself to his feet, brushing the glass off his body.
He looked downstream. Nothing.
He looked upstream. Nothing.
It was just him and the water. The river hadn't brought him anywhere of note. It was all empty. He decided that he was going to continue downstream, he didn't feel like he could make it anywhere significant if he walked back.
He walked for another hour, or at least he thought. Like he said, time is confusing down here. He finally spotted something other than black water, which was a huge relief. To his right was an orange glow. He abandoned the river he had been following and walked over to the orange glow.
It was a cliff. A small glimmer of hope filled his heart, perhaps the glow was a camp!
Maybe they have water!
Percy picked up his pace as he got closer to the cliff.
He peered over the edge of the cliff, his heart falling. Below him was a river of fire, carving its way through the black obsidian canyon, the shadows of the river casting horrible shadows along the cliff faces.
Percy slowly lowered himself to the ground, letting his feet hang off the edge of the cliff. He was soooo fucked. He looked down at the fiery river. He watched as the waves crashed against the shore, violent riptides swirling. He'd had his fill on drinking from rivers, and this one didn't seem like it would be much better. Drinking fire was, in fact, not on his to-do list.
He gazed out over the canyon. He felt the familiar feeling in his throat build up and let out a violent cough into his hand.
It wasn't a few specs anymore. His palm was covered in the red liquid. He watched in fascination as the blood dripped down his hand and onto his lap. He quickly wiped his hand on his shirt and lifted himself back from the cliff edge. His head was feeling light, and he wasn't going to take any chances.
I wonder how I taste, Percy thought. I bet demigod is a delicacy down here.
Percy grimaced as he stood, hand on his knees, waiting for the light-headedness to clear. After taking a moment, he looked around the cliff edge on his side. He spotted a thin path carved into wall of the canyon. That was his only real shot at getting down there.
Why am I going down there again? Percy frowned, trying to remember the logic for going down there. Oh yeah, I'm gonna die anyway, may as well go for the Hail-Mary.
The path was way too thin. He could barely get half his foot on the path, the back of his foot hanging off the edge, his calves straining as he kept his feet level. At least his feet had shoes, his hands were extremely cut up from the sharp glass obsidian that made up the cliff face.
He had tried to used part of his shirt to cover his hands, but they just got ripped and soaked with blood. He took a moment to toss the scraps of shirt away, looking down as they fell. He was some 50 feet from the bottom. He was almost there, just a little bit further
When Percy's foot finally touched the ground, he just about collapsed in relief. His vision was starting to get blurry, and everything had a tinge of red too it.
Well, even more of a tinge of red.
He stumbled forward towards the river. The heat coming off it almost unbearable. Anyone in their right mind would have backed away from the heat, but thankfully for himself, Percy was not in the right mind.
Percy's thoughts felt so instinctual; all he could think of was water. As he neared the water, he stumbled, landing on his stomach on the glass shore. He crawled forward, ignoring the sharp pain from the glass. He pulled himself towards the fire, cupping his hands and drinking in the fiery water.
Percy felt like he had just been blown up by a volcano. If anyone knew what that felt like, it was him. His throat, that had burned before, was lit a flame, it felt like he had tried to drink lava. He breathed heavily as he tried to refocus, this river wasn't nearly as bad as the other one. Physically? It hurt a lot more. Mentally? Not even close. And this river actually helped him. He felt the blister on his hands begin to heal, and the burning in his throat eased.
He dipped his hands in the water again, the pain more bearable this time. Whether it was him getting used to it, or the burn from the air being lessened, he didn't care. He let out a sigh as he pushed up from the floor.
As he stood up, his head felt light. The water helped him, and his wounds had mostly healed, but it didn't magically replace the blood he had lost. The swirling in his vision intensified. He stumbled backwards, and he tripped on his own feet.
He sprawled out on the ground, staring up at the... sky? He didn't think Tartarus had a sky. Sure, it had clouds, but a sky? That was different. A sky had a sun, and a moon. Percy missed the sky.
He missed looking up at the night sky and seeing the stars. He missed seeing his favorite constellation; The Huntress. Looking at it had comforted him. When he felt worthless, he would look up at it. It reminded him that someone had trusted him so deeply with something so precious, Anaklusmos.
Percy's eyelids grew heavy, the call of Hypnos strong. His mind began to slip unconsciousness. Percy could've sworn he could see the huntress as his eyes closed and he fell asleep.
Black eyes stared down at the boy.
A/N:
Thank you for the support on the first chapter! Hope this up to par with the other one, had to rewrite it 3 times.